In many cases, when a white police officer took the life of an unarmed black person, that officer didn't come from the community. They all claimed to fear for their lives, and that seemed to protect them from prosecution.

But officers take an oath to protect the communities they police. And the majority of people inside those communities are not criminals. No matter what the statistics say, "high crime" areas aren't filled with "criminals."

It is not that the unarmed victims didn't understand what the police represented. Mostly, these conflicts began when authorities didn't understand the people they were meant to protect. The white officers could never understand why Freddie Gray ran away from them in fear of his life. There isn't a manual that can teach outsiders how to police a neighborhood he or she doesn't understand.

Lt. Brian W. Rice, officer Edward M. Nero and officer Garrett E. Miller are the three white police officers who, on April 12 last year, were tasked with patrolling the Gilmor Homes, the housing project in West Baltimore where Freddie Gray lived.

The white officer who initiated contact with Freddie Gray could never know what it was like to be raised in such an environment. Oddly enough, in a city where black unemployment is rampant and more than half of black children live in low-income households, the police force is overwhelmingly made up of white men, who aren't from Baltimore.

According to the Baltimore Police Department's annual community policing report released earlier this month, there were 2,646 sworn-in officers in the department toward the end of last year. Of those, only 39% are black and only 21% live in Baltimore. In other words: Most officers are white and/or live outside Baltimore, a city where 63% of the population is black.

As the world watches the trials of the six Baltimore officers, it is important to keep in mind that the fact that Freddie Gray wasn't buckled in while transported in the back of a paddy wagon isn't what put him in danger. By the time Freddie Gray was thrown into the back of the van, his life and well-being was already compromised.

So far, the fact that Freddie Gray wasn't buckled in has been blamed on a culture in the department — that nobody followed the rules. But what if that "culture" was something else, something more sinister?

A young man holds a sign that reads 'Black youth are not thugs' as people participate in a dance party on North Ave., in Baltimore, Maryland, May 2, 2015.

Image: Patrick Smith/Getty Images

The truth is the "culture" that's being passed off as normal policing was — and is — anti-blackness. Freddie Gray wouldn't have died on April 19 had it not been for the cops racially profiling him on April 12. The assumption that a black person running means that he must have committed a crime is why so many Black people attempt to avoid contact with police in the first place. Freddie Gray was arrested by three white cops — and he hadn't even broken the law.

The only crime he committed that morning was him being black.

What complicates this issue for many Americans is that Baltimore State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby, a black woman, charged all six officers — including the three black officers who were also involved. If Marilyn Mosby was white, the cover-up perhaps would be more clear. But you don't need to be white to participate in white supremacy or the institutionalized fear of black people.

This summer at The Justice Conference, I heard Cornell West say, "I have a lot of anti-blackness inside of me so I know y'all have a lot of work to do."

And it's true: We have all internalized fear of black bodies, though some groups have more of that fear.

The "culture" of the Baltimore Police Department is rooted in anti-blackness. If more of the police force looked like the people who live in the communities they are meant to protect, there would be less fear of black people and the "culture" would be inclusive.

Protesters march from City Hall a day after Baltimore authorities released a report on the death of Freddie Gray, May 2, 2015 in Baltimore, Maryland.

Image: Patrick Smith/Getty Images

Freddie Gray died after trying to flee three white men who would not have been around Gilmore Homes if they weren't out patrolling black people. The lack of community hiring, engagement, and empathy from Baltimore police is what killed Freddie Gray.

To blame his death on the lack of a seat belt and a "culture" is taking a too-narrow view.

As the trial unfolds, don't expect an American jury to convict three white officers. And don't expect things to change. This will happen again, until we do something about the anti-blackness inside of us all, for once and for all.

Kwame Rose, a social activist and artist, is best known for holding mainstream media accountable during the #BaltimoreUprising. He is currently on his first speaking tour, #BEinspired.

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